A couple of months ago I
wrote about a few possibilities for my next new car. Last month I cleaned up my Z28 and
starting thinking, "why get a new car?" So, if I dont get a new car what
should I look for in a classic old car.

I will be looking for classic muscle cars, mainly. I want a car that I could "hot
rod" for more performance, so total originality is not a requirement. However, I
would prefer a car that has fewer modifications from stock, since it is very hard to know
how well someone else modifies a car. Finally, I want a car that I can drive to work at
least frequently, if not daily.

For this column I will set two imaginary budgets and search the Internet for cars in
those budgets. The first budget will be $10,000. This is a reasonable amount for a
personal loan without using the car itself for collateral. Worse case I would put my
Camaro up for collateral. Ideally I would just save the money.

The second budget will be $20,000. This is less than the average price of a new car,
and I would expect to use the car itself as collateral. On a four-year loan the payments
should be less than the payments for a new car. This would be the argument I will use on
my wife. It also means finding a car that is really worth that much. (For the sake of
this article we will assume this wont be a problem, but in reality it could be
difficult to swing a loan on a mint 65 Mustang GT.)

When I started this I thought I would find a half dozen or so cars. What I found is
that the Internet lets you find hundreds of cars. I found too many to list here. But I
wanted to give you an idea of what you and I could find if we went looking. This huge list
only strengthens the importance of getting a handle on what to look for and to stay
focused. Unfortunately, my focus is all over the place, as you will soon see.

My intention was to reprint the ads here in their entirety. That would make this column
extremely long. To help I made thumbnails of all the pictures. You can click on any of the
thumbnails to see the image as it appeared in the original ad. Also, I only kept the full
ads for a handful of cars in each budget. The rest were edited drastically. My own
comments on each car are in blue.

Here are the best cars for under $12,000. I know, I said $10,000. However, it may be
possible to negotiate the price, and I might miss that perfect car (1969 Camaro
Convertible with a 350 and 4-speed priced at $10,995) if I did not at least search for
cars a little over budget.

Note: This ad did not have a picture, but since it is the
car I really want I am listing it first.

This is the perfect car for me: 69 Camaro Convertible, not original, nice small block
V-8 and 4-speed. Since the car is not original the price is only good if the car is really
excellent. Definitely worth further investigation. This would make a great project car.
Good enough to drive now, and since it is not original it wont matter when I stuff
that supercharged 502 big block in it.

This looks like a really well kept car. I love the split bumper
70-73 Camaros. Notice the correct low back buckets and "small" spoiler of the 70
model. Too bad its an automatic. I could do without the vinyl roof as well. This
looks like a good, unmolested car.

This car isnt as popular as the others here, but if it
really is a factory 340/4-spd car, then you cant beat the price. Worth
investigating. Looks clean. If it is as good as it seems this would make a great
run-around car. These cars are light, so expect to replace rear tires frequently.

This one is over budget for this section, but it seems like a
really nice car. It has the 4-speed, plus its a convertible and a GT. Like the ad
says, "Perfect for weekends or a daily driver." If it is as good as it seems it
would be worth haggling over the price to get it into the budget. This is a real classic.
Argue that the alarm system lowers the value of the car, which it does. To get him away
from "firm."

This is the kind of car I want to build. A non-original, classic
hot rod that I could drive every day. If this car is in as good a condition as he says, it
is worth looking at. Remember that you never know how much attention to detail another
person takes when they build their car. Also, he may have made modifications that you
wouldnt. It is always harder, and more expensive, to return things to stock.
However, Austin is only and hour drive from San Antonio. Too bad it has an automatic. And
obviously the price is over our 10K budget, so we would have to decide what to do about
that.

I assume the miles are on a rebuilt drive train. If it is a
factory big block car, even without matching numbers, it would be cool. Big block and
4-speed. A hard combination to beat. If only it were a convertible. I would call for the
photos.

This is an interesting one. I prefer the styling of the late
60s Corvairs, but I would look into this for fun. I could make a statement with a
car like this. Dont they make kits to put a small block V-8 in the back of these?

Now its time to bust the budget. I decided to search for cars under $25,000 just
in case I miss something really special. The best of the lot are here. Once again, my
comments are in blue.

This car is why you dont look over your budget. It
is gorgeous. It looks like it just rolled off the showroom floor. A factory big block,
4-speed, convertible. How can you beat it? And the picture really does look good. You need
to see this one. If it lives up to its hype, it would be worth going over budget for this
one.

I know I wanted a convertible, but a true 69 Z/28 never came in a
drop top. This car looks excellent. If your in the market for a radical muscle car (the
302s were high winding engines) this is a beauty. I would think hard about this one if I
had the money. I was really looking for a classic that could be driven to work. This one
probably wouldnt make a good daily driver. I would be afraid of what could happen to
it. It sure is sharp.

1971 Ford Mustang, this numbers matching car is all original except for
new base clear repaint, interior is original and like new, only 72,000 miles on this car.
$19,500/OBO.

I am not a big fan of the 71-73 Mustangs. However, the 71 Boss
351 is the best one of the bunch. The ad doesnt say it, but the picture shows it. If
this is a real Boss 351 (arguably a much better engine than the Boss 302) this would be a
great car. Definitely worth closer investigation. The picture makes it look great. Like
the 69 Z/28 above, this one would probably be best for weekend only driving. Daily use
would depreciate its value. (Note: the picture for this one did copy well when building
this page. The original was amazing.)

I prefer the cleaner look of the non-RS models. The hide-a-way
headlights dont impress me on this car. But this is a nice example. It looks ready
for cruising. The price seems a bit high, but it would depend on how original it is. Damn
those automatics.

This looks like a nice classic Vette that would make a perfect
daily driver. It could use some aftermarket wheels to set it off. The price seems a little
high for a fairly plain Vette. But it has the 4-speed (Hurray!) and should turn heads
pretty well. The extra money from the 20K budget could easily buy new wheels and tires,
and maybe have enough for a little engine and suspension upgrading.

I love big block Chevelles. This has a 4-speed, but the price
seems too high for me. I would have to verify its value. Seems like it should have a 454
for 20 grand. Why couldnt it be a convertible? Because of the price, I would assume
this car to be a collectors item, and would have a hard time punishing it with daily
driving.

Another price problem. This car looks super clean. But the price
seems high for a 383. For almost 19 grand I would expect a 440 4-bbl, or 6-pack. It does
have a 4-speed. The wheels are not original, but if the rest of the car is, it might be
worth it. I would rather get the price down though. It sure would look sweet in my
driveway. Personally I think this is a better looking car than the Chevelle above it. But
that is a case by case opinion. I usually prefer Chevys.

I found this at the last minute and had to include it. A true
Shelby in mint condition, and only slightly over the 20K budget. The other pictures
were just as good as this one. If I had 20K+ lying around I would call about this beauty.

The rest of these just caught my eye. They have any number of reasons to like or
dislike them. I just wanted to give you an idea of the kind of stuff I looked at. You will
notice a lot of Mustangs here. That is not because I am a Mustang nut. Dont get me
wrong, I love Mustangs as much as the next guy does. I tend to lean toward Chevys,
but there are a lot of Mustangs out there. If you want one, just search the Internet for
your price range.

All the following have had their "ad" shortened, drastically in some cases,
to keep this article reasonable.

What kind of body work? Cant tell from picture. Could be
worth it depending on the amount of work. Love Plum Crazy!

1965 Mustang, 95000 Miles, ground-up restoration. Car is very straight,
never in an accident. Everything was replaced or reconditioned, including [there were two very full paragraphs in the original ad here]. 289,
4v, GT exhaust tips, have original factory A/C ready for restoration. $14,000/OBO.

Seems like a well done hot rod. Why is the A/C ready? It should
be in the car. Reminds me of the Mustang Robert Urick drove in Spencer. Cool. Could make a
great daily driver hot rod.

I keep liking this car. A serious cruiser. Sporty with big block
power. I could pretend I am Nash Bridges. (I know... his is a Hemi Cuda, but this is close
enough). Seems a little expensive though. No 4-speed!

This one had a lot of stuff listed on its web site. "All
original, including paint, 383 2-bbl, etc. Appraised for $16,900." I think that is
high. For 16K, I would expect at least a high performance 383 or 440 engine. Sorry. Love
the gas cap!

Looks like a clean hot rod. I like this one. The wheels are cheap
and no 4-speed. Use that to negotiate.

1968 Barracuda Formula S, 340, auto. $10,000.

I cant help but like the 68-69 Barracudas. This car is not
original, and it seems like a bit much to spend for a hot rod without a 4-speed.

1967 Mustang
GT, 390, 4-spd., $15,000/OBO.

Ad said, "ground up restoration," but mentioned things
that are typically not stock.. I would double-check the value. Otherwise I like it. A
classic Mustang with a big block and 4-speed. In the 20K budget with room to spare.
Definitely a call needs to be made here. I could image being Steve McQueen in Bullet with
this one. (Note: I would have put this one in the "final" list above but the ad
was very confusing. If I had the money today, I would call.)

1970
Cuda, 383, 4-spd, $16,900/OBO.

Hard to tell from this phote. Looks decent. I prefer the 71, but
it is a big block with a 4-speed. I would call about this one.

1969
AMX. 390 V-8 4V, Automatic, This is a very correct AMX. $11,500.

This is a real find for AMC fans. A seriously restored AMX for a
decent price. No 4-speed though. Looks excellent.

1969 Camaro 383, TH350 auto, 12 bolt, very fast. $7000.

Reliability would be the big concern here. It listed a lot of hot
rod parts. Hard to know how well some one build cars.

I love GTOs. They started the muscle car era. Seems like a
reasonable price for a professional restoration. Why arent the wheels stock? No
4-speed.

1965 Tempest. Mint
cond, all original, new rebuilt motor. $6,000.

All original? Rebuilt? Oh well. Remember, the GTO was based on
the Tempest/Le Mans. This could be made into a cheap GTO clone. The gold interior screams
"Wuss!" What engine/tranny?

That does it. I listed A LOT of cars I came across. You should see the ones that I left
off. When I get my house built, with its three car garage, I will revisit this topic with
the intention to buy. Look for that in about 2 - 3 years.